Lesson Plan
Building Bridges - Session 1
Students will explore and define belonging, share personal connections, and collaboratively create a metaphorical “bridge” to represent how they connect and support one another.
Building a sense of belonging fosters trust, reduces isolation, and supports both social-emotional growth and academic engagement, especially for students with IEPs and multilingual learners.
Audience
Time
Approach
Materials
Prep
Prepare Materials
10 minutes
Step 1
Warm-Up: Connection Corners
10 minutes
Step 2
Introduction & Discussion
15 minutes
Step 3
Collaborative Activity: Bridge Metaphor
25 minutes
Step 4
Reflection & Cool-Down
10 minutes
Slide Deck
Building Bridges – Session 1
Objectives / Objetivos
Warm-Up: Connection Corners / Calentamiento: Esquinas de Conexión
Sentence Frames / Estructuras de Oración
Define Community & Belonging / Definir Comunidad y Pertenencia
Discussion: Think-Pair-Share / Discusión: Piensa-Compara-Expresa
Collaborative Activity: Bridge Metaphor / Actividad Colaborativa: Metáfora del Puente
Bridge Example / Ejemplo de Puente
Reflection & Cool-Down / Reflexión y Despedida
Thank You / Gracias
Worksheet
Lesson Plan
Building Bridges - Session 2
Students will deepen their understanding of empathy by identifying emotions, practicing perspective-taking through role-play, and co-creating a concrete action plan to strengthen belonging in the classroom.
Developing empathy and empowering students to act fosters a more inclusive, supportive community, enhancing social-emotional skills and engagement for all learners.
Audience
Time
Approach
Materials
Prep
Prepare Materials
10 minutes
Step 1
Warm-Up: Emotion Charades
10 minutes
Step 2
Introduction & Discussion
15 minutes
Step 3
Collaborative Activity: Empathy Role-Play
20 minutes
Step 4
Action Planning: Connection Commitments
10 minutes
Step 5
Reflection & Cool-Down
5 minutes
Slide Deck
Building Bridges – Session 2
Objectives / Objetivos
Warm-Up: Emotion Charades / Charadas de Emociones
Define Empathy & Perspective-Taking / Definir Empatía y Perspectiva
Discussion: Think-Pair-Share / Discusión: Piensa-Compara-Expresa
Collaborative Activity: Empathy Role-Play / Actividad Colaborativa: Dramatización de Empatía
Empathy Role-Play Example / Ejemplo de Dramatización
Action Planning: Connection Commitments / Plan de Acción para Conexiones
Reflection & Cool-Down / Reflexión y Despedida
Thank You / Gracias
Worksheet
Worksheet
